Gammadyne Mailer

Overall: I have used it for almost 10 years - has always been mu go to tool for bulk email

Pros: The value is is a no brain'r. It is very easy to set up and run our campaigns.

Cons: Not a pretty interface but that doesn't really affect how it works

Overall: for the most part, if we're simply using it to pull a stock form from a database and have it merge values and send email, it does that quite well. We have more problems when we use the HTML editor to build messages for one-off jobs. For instance, the functions and scripting command embedded into the HTML code are not protected against the HTML validator, turning scripts like [[ if Age > 17 ]] into [[ if Age > 17 ]]. This requires our end users to use the raw editor which they are not as comfortable using and reading HTML. The process of marking invalid email addresses is also buggy and doesn't appear to always work. In our use, we've found that less than 50% of the records with bad email addresses fill the integer field we've designated with a value of 1 to tell the email address was bad.

Pros: the feature set they strive for, the combination of scripting features plus a less technical means of building email jobs.

Cons: Some features are buggy or at least have side effects that are frustrating to work around.

Overall: Easy to use and at a terrific price!

Pros: While we don't use this very often (usually about quarterly) because we don't receive nor send out much email, when we do send out an email announcement to all our customers, this program is the one I run to. Took me several hours over the course of a week or so to input all my customer information (I like to do things one at a time vs. an upload or merger), now that all my customers are in the database, using it and employing it are a breeze. It's super easy to add new customers as they come in. I make sure to do it almost as soon as I can so things don't build up, and I don't get behind. All the boxes of the software are easy to fill in, and it really allows me to manage all the different lists I create with all our different type customers.

Cons: It's limited. What it can do is terrific. After using it for a long time, I am now finding things I would like to do that this version of the software can't. While none of the new ideas are pressing, I may have to find another email/list management software within the next 6-18 months that will allow me to expand how I want to contact my customers.